Droid Life » Project Loonhttp://www.droid-life.com
An intense Android news community bringing you the latest in phones, rooting, apps, and reviews.Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:59:11 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1Not Content With Balloons, Google Plans to Use Satellites to Expand Internet Access Around the Globehttp://www.droid-life.com/2014/06/02/not-content-with-balloons-google-plans-to-use-satellites-to-expand-internet-access-around-the-globe/
http://www.droid-life.com/2014/06/02/not-content-with-balloons-google-plans-to-use-satellites-to-expand-internet-access-around-the-globe/#commentsMon, 02 Jun 2014 17:00:53 +0000http://www.droid-life.com/?p=141731Not Content With Balloons, Google Plans to Use Satellites to Expand Internet Access Around the Globe is a post from: Droid Life
]]>Not content with hot air balloons, Google has its sights on higher-flying objects. According to The Wall Street Journal, the search giant plans to spend between $1-3 billion constructing a fleet of satellites to provide internet access to people in remote areas of the world.

The report says Google will begin with a small fleet, but the company’s endgame is to blanket the sky with cheaper, lightweight (less than 250 pounds) satellites that would beam internet access to inexpensive ground antennas.

The effort is being spearheaded by Greg Wyler, founder of the engineering startup O3b Networks Ltd. He and O3b’s chief networking officer recently joined Google, along with several employees from satellite company Space Systems/Loral LLC. In all, the WSJ‘s sources say about 15 people are working on the project.

Other companies have pursued similar strategies without much success. A Microsoft-backed effort ballooned to $9 billion and faced regulatory and technical hurdles impossible to overcome. Satellite internet provider Iridium Satellite LLC entered bankrupty less than a year after it began offering service to customers.

WSJ spoke with a consultant who said the cost of satellites has dropped in recent years, who estimated Google could launch 180 satellites for as little as $600 million, but the plan is still at risk of cost overrun.

Luckily, satellites are only one of many ways Google intends to spread internet around the globe. Many speculate the company’s acquisition of aeronautics company Titan Aerospace two months ago will lead to the replacement of Project Loon’s balloons with solar-powered, internet-deploying drones.

Don’t be surprised if a Google satellite passes over your hometown one day.

]]>http://www.droid-life.com/2014/06/02/not-content-with-balloons-google-plans-to-use-satellites-to-expand-internet-access-around-the-globe/feed/11From the Weekend: Project Loon is Google’s Attempt to Bring Internet to the World Using Balloonshttp://www.droid-life.com/2013/06/17/from-the-weekend-project-loon-is-googles-attempt-to-bring-internet-to-the-world-using-balloons/
http://www.droid-life.com/2013/06/17/from-the-weekend-project-loon-is-googles-attempt-to-bring-internet-to-the-world-using-balloons/#commentsMon, 17 Jun 2013 21:55:43 +0000http://www.droid-life.com/?p=111394From the Weekend: Project Loon is Google’s Attempt to Bring Internet to the World Using Balloons is a post from: Droid Life
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Over the weekend, Google introduced their new moonshot from the Google[x] team called Project Loon, and boy is it a big one. The focus is on the reality that there are massive holes in internet coverage throughout the world. In fact, in many areas there isn’t an internet connection to be had at all or if there is one, it’s seen as nothing more than an incredibly expensive luxury. So how can they attempt to change this? With balloons. Lots of balloons floating 20km above the Earth (in the stratosphere) and traveling easily through layers of wind. Seems crazy, right? It’s already in testing.

Outside of being able to sell ads if the internet is in more locations, Google is selling Project Loon with the idea that education, support for small businesses, and medical care can all happen in disconnected parts of the world thanks to solar-powered balloons. They already have specially made internet antennas that attach to buildings on the the ground, which can then transmit signals to networks of balloons in the air. Those balloons then attach to an internet service provider which can produce 3G-type data speeds. So no, we’re not talking LTE or next-gen speeds as of right now, but that’s not the point at this time. Just having 3G in an area of the world that has never tasted the internet before, is quite the idea.

The Project Loon team has already begun testing a balloon network down in New Zealand. Last week alone they launched 30 balloons and have some 50 people trying to connect to them. From here, they are hoping to find other locations to test that are in the same latitude as New Zealand. This first major test, though, will help them greatly improve balloon designs and prepare for next steps.

It’s a massive project that could be life changing to many – the exact point of a moonshot.

To learn more, be sure to watch both videos that we have included, and also feel free to hit up the source link.